Why is Blender so popular for 3D printing?
(Sorry if this is more of a comment, I can not comment on questions as of yet.) Well there is of course the obvious: Blender has a bundled addon called "3D Printing Toolbox" which lets you easily check for errors (non-manifold edges, faces too small to be accurately printed, overhangs, intersections) and measure statistics (area, volume, dimensions).

Go to file --> user preferences --> addons --> type : 3d print --> check the 3d printing toolbox